Downlink control signalling transmission method and device

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of communications and provides a method of and apparatus for transmitting downlink control information, and the method includes: for transmission of DCI over any carrier, determining DAI information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the carrier and an HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI dependent upon PDSCH HARQ feedback scheme currently in use; and determining a UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the carrier dependent upon a PUSCH scheduling scheme currently in use, so that an appropriate DCI design scheme is provided for an application scenario of across-system carrier aggregation to thereby satisfy a demand for the use of an evolved process in an LTE system and improve effectively the performance of the system.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of transmitting Downlink Control Information (DCI), applicable to a scenario where a Time Division Duplex (TDD) carrier and a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) carrier are aggregated, wherein for transmission of DCI over any current carrier, the current carrier is a TDD carrier or an FDD carrier to be scheduled, the method comprises:
 determining Downlink Assignment Index (DAI) information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and a Hybrid Automatic Repeat ReQuest (HARQ) process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI, dependent upon a duplex mode of a primary carrier, wherein a uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over a current TDD carrier comprises no DAI field the same as a uplink scheduling DCI carried over a primary FDD carrier, a downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current TDD carrier comprises no DAI field and 3 bits HARQ process number information field the same as downlink scheduling DCI carried over the primary FDD carrier, or a uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over a current FDD carrier comprises 2 bits of DAI field the same as a uplink scheduling DCI carried over a primary TDD carrier, a downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current FDD carrier comprises 2 bits of DAI and 4 bits of HARQ process number information fields the same as a downlink scheduling DCI carried over the primary TDD carrier; 
 determining an Uplink (UL) index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier dependent upon a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier; 
 generating the corresponding uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI from results of determining the respective information fields; and 
 transmitting the uplink scheduling DCI and the downlink scheduling DCI to UE over the current carrier. 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein if the PUSCH scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier is to transmit PUSCH scheduling information for different uplink subframes respectively in different downlink subframes, then determining an UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier comprises:
 setting no UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI. 
 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein if the PUSCH scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier is to transmit PUSCH scheduling information for different uplink subframes in a same downlink subframe, then determining an UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier comprises:
 if the current carrier is a TDD carrier, then setting a length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to M bits, wherein M is a preset value; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; and 
 if the current carrier is an FDD carrier, then setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to ┌log 2 (P)┐ bits, wherein P represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe as supported for use in the system; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to ┌log 2 (Q)┐ bits, wherein Q represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe over the currently aggregated carriers; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to A bits, wherein A represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe as supported for use in the system; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to B bits, wherein B represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe over the currently aggregated carriers. 
 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein if the primary carrier is a FDD carrier, then determining DAI information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and an HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI comprises:
 setting no DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI; and 
 setting no DAI information field and setting the HARQ process number information field to 3 bits in the downlink scheduling DCI. 
 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein if the primary carrier is a TDD carrier, then determining DAI information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and an HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI comprises:
 setting a length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to N bits, wherein N is a preset value; or setting the length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or setting the length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI according to ACK/NACK information fed back by the UE; 
 setting a length of the HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI to log 2 (M) bits, wherein M represents the largest number of HARQ processes as supported in the system; or setting the length of the HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI according to a reference TDD uplink-downlink configuration corresponding to PDSCH HARQ feedback of the FDD carrier; and 
 setting a length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI to N bits, wherein N is a preset value; or setting the length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or setting the length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI according to ACK/NACK information fed back by the UE. 
 
     
     
       6. A method of processing Downlink Control Information (DCI), applicable to a scenario where a Time Division Duplex (TDD) carrier and a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) carrier are aggregated, wherein for processing of DCI transmitted over any current carrier, the current carrier is a TDD carrier or an FDD carrier to be scheduled, the method comprises:
 determining Downlink Assignment Index (DAI) information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and a Hybrid Automatic Repeat ReQuest (HARQ) process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI dependent upon a duplex mode of a primary carrier, wherein a uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over a current TDD carrier comprises no DAI field the same as a uplink scheduling DCI carried over a primary FDD carrier, a downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current TDD carrier comprises no DAI field and 3 bits HARQ process number information field the same as downlink scheduling DCI carried over the primary FDD carrier, or a uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over a current FDD carrier comprises 2 bits of DAI field the same as a uplink scheduling DCI carried over a primary TDD carrier, a downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current FDD carrier comprises 2 bits of DAI and 4 bits of HARQ process number information fields the same as a downlink scheduling DCI carried over the primary TDD carrier; 
 determining an Uplink (UL) index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier dependent upon a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier; 
 parsing the uplink scheduling DCI and the downlink scheduling DCI according to results of determining the respective information fields upon reception of the uplink scheduling DCI and the downlink scheduling DCI, transmitted from network side, over the current carrier. 
 
     
     
       7. The method according to  claim 6 , wherein if the PUSCH scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier is to transmit PUSCH scheduling information for different uplink subframes respectively in different downlink subframes, then determining an UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier comprises:
 determining no UL index information field to be set in the uplink scheduling DCI. 
 
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 6 , wherein if the PUSCH scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier is to transmit PUSCH scheduling information for different uplink subframes in a same downlink subframe, then determining an UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier comprises:
 if the current carrier is a TDD carrier, then determining a length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to M bits, wherein M is a preset value; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; and 
 if the current carrier is an FDD carrier, then determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to ┌log 2 (P)┐ bits, wherein P represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe as supported for use in the system; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to ┌log 2 (Q)┐ bits, wherein Q represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe over the currently aggregated carriers; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to A bits, wherein A represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe as supported for use in the system; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to B bits, wherein B represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe over the currently aggregated carriers. 
 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 6 , wherein if the primary carrier is a FDD carrier, then determining DAI information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and an HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI comprises:
 determining no DAI information field to be set in the uplink scheduling DCI; and 
 determining no DAI information field to be set and the HARQ process number information field to be set to 3 bits in the downlink scheduling DCI. 
 
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 6 , wherein if the primary carrier is a TDD carrier, then determining DAI information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and an HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI comprises:
 determining a length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to N bits, wherein N is a preset value; or determining the length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or determining the length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI according to ACK/NACK information fed back locally; 
 determining a length of the HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI to be set to log 2 (M) bits, wherein M represents the largest number of HARQ processes as supported in the system; or determining the length of the HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI according to a reference TDD uplink-downlink configuration corresponding to PDSCH HARQ feedback of the FDD carrier; and 
 determining a length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI to be set to N bits, wherein N is a preset value; or determining the length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or determining the length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI according to ACK/NACK information fed back locally. 
 
     
     
       11. An apparatus for transmitting Downlink Control Information (DCI), applicable to a scenario where a Time Division Duplex (TDD) carrier and a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) carrier are aggregated, the apparatus comprising:
 a master control unit configured, for transmission of DCI over any current carrier, the current carrier being a TDD carrier or an FDD carrier to be scheduled, to determine Downlink Assignment Index (DAI) information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and a Hybrid Automatic Repeat ReQuest (HARQ) process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI dependent a duplex mode of a primary carrier, wherein a uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over a current TDD carrier comprises no DAI field the same as a uplink scheduling DCI carried over a primary FDD carrier, a downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current TDD carrier comprises no DAI field and 3 bits HARQ process number information field the same as downlink scheduling DCI carried over the primary FDD carrier, or a uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over a current FDD carrier comprises 2 bits of DAI field the same as a uplink scheduling DCI carried over a primary TDD carrier, a downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current FDD carrier comprises 2 bits of DAI and 4 bits of HARQ process number information fields the same as a downlink scheduling DCI carried over the primary TDD carrier; and 
 to determine an Uplink (UL) index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier dependent upon a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier; and 
 a communication unit configured to generate the corresponding uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI from results of determining the respective information fields and to transmit the uplink scheduling DCI and the downlink scheduling DCI to UE over the current carrier. 
 
     
     
       12. The apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein if the PUSCH scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier is to transmit PUSCH scheduling information for different uplink subframes respectively in different downlink subframes, then the master control unit determines an UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier at least by:
 setting no UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein if the PUSCH scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier is to transmit PUSCH scheduling information for different uplink subframes in a same downlink subframe, then the master control unit determines an UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier at least by:
 if the current carrier is a TDD carrier, setting a length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to M bits, wherein M is a preset value; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; and 
 if the current carrier is an FDD carrier, setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to ┌log 2 (P)┐ bits, wherein P represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe as supported for use in the system; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to ┌log 2 (Q)┐ bits, wherein Q represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe over the currently aggregated carriers; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to A bits, wherein A represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe as supported for use in the system; or setting the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to B bits, wherein B represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe over the currently aggregated carriers. 
 
     
     
       14. The apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein if the primary carrier is a FDD carrier, then the master control unit determines DAI information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and an HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI at least by:
 setting no DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI; and 
 setting no DAI information field and setting the HARQ process number information field to 3 bits in the downlink scheduling DCI. 
 
     
     
       15. The apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein if the primary carrier is a TDD carrier, then the master control unit determines DAI information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and an HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI at least by:
 setting a length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to N bits, wherein N is a preset value; or setting the length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or setting the length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI according to ACK/NACK information fed back by the UE; 
 setting a length of the HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI to log 2 (M) bits, wherein M represents the largest number of HARQ processes as supported in the system; or setting the length of the HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI according to a reference TDD uplink-downlink configuration corresponding to PDSCH HARQ feedback of the FDD carrier; and 
 setting a length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI to N bits, wherein N is a preset value; or setting the length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or setting the length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI according to ACK/NACK information fed back by the UE. 
 
     
     
       16. An apparatus for processing Downlink Control Information (DCI), applicable to a scenario where a Time Division Duplex (TDD) carrier and a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) carrier are aggregated, the apparatus comprising:
 a processing unit configured, for processing of DCI transmitted over any current carrier, the current carrier being a TDD carrier or an FDD carrier to be schedule, to determine Downlink Assignment Index (DAI) information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the carrier and a Hybrid Automatic Repeat ReQuest (HARQ) process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI dependent upon a duplex mode of a primary carrier, wherein a uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over a current TDD carrier comprises no DAI field the same as a uplink scheduling DCI carried over a primary FDD carrier, a downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current TDD carrier comprises no DAI field and 3 bits HARQ process number information field the same as downlink scheduling DCI carried over the primary FDD carrier, or a uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over a current FDD carrier comprises 2 bits of DAI field the same as a uplink scheduling DCI carried over a primary TDD carrier, a downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current FDD carrier comprises 2 bits of DAI and 4 bits of HARQ process number information fields the same as a downlink scheduling DCI carried over the primary TDD carrier; and 
 to determine an Uplink (UL) index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier dependent upon a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier; and 
 a communication unit configured to parse the uplink scheduling DCI and the downlink scheduling DCI according to the respective information fields upon reception of the uplink scheduling DCI and the downlink scheduling DCI, transmitted from network side, over the current carrier. 
 
     
     
       17. The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein if the PUSCH scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier is to transmit PUSCH scheduling information for different uplink subframes respectively in different downlink subframes, then the processing unit determines an UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier at least by:
 determining no UL index information field to be set in the uplink scheduling DCI. 
 
     
     
       18. The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein if the PUSCH scheduling scheme currently used for the current carrier is to transmit PUSCH scheduling information for different uplink subframes in a same downlink subframe, then the processing unit determines an UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier at least by:
 if the current carrier is a TDD carrier, determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to M bits, wherein M is a preset value; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; and 
 if the current carrier is an FDD carrier, determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to ┌log 2 (P)┐ bits, wherein P represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe as supported for use in the system; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to ┌log 2 (Q)┐ bits, wherein Q represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe over the currently aggregated carriers; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to A bits, wherein A represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe as supported for use in the system; or determining the length of the UL index information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to B bits, wherein B represents the largest number of a plurality of uplink subframes scheduled in a same downlink subframe over the currently aggregated carriers. 
 
     
     
       19. The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein if the primary carrier is a FDD carrier, then the processing unit determines DAI information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and an HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI at least by:
 determining no DAI information field to be set in the uplink scheduling DCI; and 
 determining no DAI information field to be set and the HARQ process number information field to be set to 3 bits in the downlink scheduling DCI. 
 
     
     
       20. The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein if the primary carrier is a TDD carrier, then the processing unit determines DAI information fields in uplink scheduling DCI and downlink scheduling DCI to be carried over the current carrier and an HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI at least by:
 determining a length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI to be set to N bits, wherein N is a preset value; or determining the length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or determining the length of the DAI information field in the uplink scheduling DCI according to ACK/NACK information fed back locally; 
 determining a length of the HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI to be set to log 2 (M) bits, wherein M represents the largest number of HARQ processes as supported in the system; or determining the length of the HARQ process number information field in the downlink scheduling DCI according to a reference TDD uplink-downlink configuration corresponding to PDSCH HARQ feedback of the FDD carrier; and 
 determining a length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI to be set to N bits, wherein N is a preset value; or determining the length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI as indicated by higher-layer signaling; or determining the length of the DAI information field in the downlink scheduling DCI according to ACK/NACK information fed back locally.